


Time After Time

by blackcloudx



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, hi I am back, johnten, this old fic I reposted the finished one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 15:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14047347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcloudx/pseuds/blackcloudx
Summary: Ten and Johnny are highschool sweethearts.Being in love isn't the only way to keep their relationship last.





	Time After Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I posted this once on Ao3 but unfinished. This is the finished one. Anyway, I am back for Ten :)

Being high school sweethearts had it’s up and down. People often thought that as teenagers, they didn’t know the real meaning of love. ‘It was just puppy love’ they said, ‘you are too young to understand love’ they said. At some points, what they said was true but Johnny and Ten proved everyone who doubt them wrong. They might be too young to understand love but they both were willing to learn _how_ to love.

Their first meeting wasn’t ordinary. It was their first year in high school and they both were still in awkward teenager phase where Johnny was a typical geek who enjoyed reading book alone in library while Ten was a typical over-friendly student who greeted everyone he met on his way. A fate brought them together one day when the history teacher asked Ten to help her to carry a stack of papers to the next class she would teach. Being known as klutz, he tripped on his shoelace; sending the papers flying in the air and the next moment everything was scattered on the hallway ground. As he looked up, teacher was out of his sight; probably already arrived at her next class. He cringed at a little before looking around to make sure no one saw his fail moment, feeling embarrassed for his clumsy self. Trying to do it as quick as possible, Ten didn’t notice that someone had been helping him to pick up the papers and when he turned around, he was met with a pair of brown eyes staring straight into his eyes. It was like a cliché scene in romantic movie and back then, Ten thought it was silly. Now that he experienced it directly, it wasn’t really silly because his heart was fluttering like crazy.

“Here.”

The deep voice sent shivers all over Ten’s body and he fought the urge to blush. The boy was attractive. Wavy brown locks matched his sharp and big brown eyes but what distracted Ten the most was his plump lips. They looked soft and Ten kind of wanted to touch it with his fingers (or lips?).

“T-thanks.” Ten wanted to beat himself for stuttering. Their hands brushed against each other as the brown haired boy passed the papers to him and he swore that his heartbeat went up drastically.

When they stood up from the crouching position, Ten couldn’t help to gap at their height difference. The brown haired boy was tall, like _really_ tall for a highschool student. It was almost funny because he looked like a midget compared to him.

“You’re welcome.”

The taller smiled, making Ten’s heart beat even faster. It  was like being hypnotized, Ten could only stare in daze. Maybe this was what called as falling in love at the first sight. The boy excused himself and Ten watched as he walked away from him. That was when he realized that he didn’t ask the boy’s name yet. Panic took over his mind and without waiting anymore, he dashed towards the direction where the brown haired boy gone.

“Hey! You!” Ten finally spotted the familiar brown hair. The boy was about to go upstairs and he fastened his step. A name, that was what he wanted to know right now and he didn’t care if his history teacher gave him a hell for running away with her papers.

The brown haired boy turned his head and their eyes met again. Feeling excited to see him again, Ten slightly bounced on his step and it wasn’t really good decision because his shoelace was still untied thus he tripped over it _again_. For the second time, his body met the ground as the papers scattered on the floor.

He heard a gasp which he believed coming from the brown haired boy. His body was aching and knees were throbbing in pain, but those were still bearable because the embarrassment of falling in front of his crush was bigger than anything. Ten knew that he had fallen for the latter but _not_ in literal way.

“Are you—are you okay?”

Ten wanted to play dead when the boy crouched beside him. Or maybe die for real was a better option because he couldn’t handle the embarrassing situation right now—but when a large hand landed on his arm, he started rethinking to stay alive for 100 years.

“Uh, I am okay.” Ten mumbled and glanced up sheepishly at the tall boy.

Strong hand wrapped around Ten’s left arm, helping him to get up from the ground. It was warm and he liked it. Once he was standing, he brushed the dust off his uniform; eyes were avoiding the taller. He didn’t know what to say to cover his embarrassment. Then he noticed that how silent the other was so he decided to gather his courage to look up. What he saw only made him red in the face because the boy was covering his mouth with his palm, clearly trying so hard to not burst into laughter.

“Sorry, I just—“ The brown haired boy cleared his throat to compose his self. He took a deep breath and Ten expected him to say something humiliating. “I am sorry. Let me help you with the papers.”

“No it’s okay. Uh…”

“No, really! I think Mrs. Jung will be angry if you don’t bring those papers as soon as possible.”

Now he remembered that Mrs. Jung was probably waiting for him to bring the papers to her. It was a lie if he wasn’t scared of his history’s teacher wrath. The woman was famous as killer teacher in his school. He crouched down to pick all the papers in hurry; some of them were a bit dirty and he knew immediately that he was really, really fucked up.

Melodious chuckle escaped from the taller’s mouth and Ten noticed how the boy was picking the papers with amused smile on his face. At this point he wasn’t sure if his heart was beating so fast out of fear over Mrs. Jung’s wrath or because the attractive student stayed to help him _again_.

“You better tie your shoelaces first. I may not be around when you trip over them again.”

“Oh right.” Ten was sure someone could fry an egg on his face because it felt so hot. He couldn’t even blame the weather because it was a bit chilly today.

After tying his shoelaces (and making sure that they weren’t loose anymore) Ten planned to pick the remaining papers but he noticed that all of them were already in the taller boy’s hands. He looked up with a shy smile and the boy handed him the papers. Their hands didn’t brush against each other this time and Ten was honestly feeling disappointed.

“Thank you.. uh.. again.”

“So…” The boy tilted his head to the side in curious manner which made him look really cute in Ten’s eyes. Oh no, he was whipped already. “Do you need something from me? You were calling me earlier, right?”

Sadly due the unfortunate event aka him tripping over his shoelaces, he forgot that the reason why he chased the boy earlier was actually to ask his name. He suddenly felt nervous like someone who was going to confess his love, which wasn’t far away from his intention since he had a major crush over the boy in front of him to the point he already imagined their future together.

“Oh I—” Ten opened his mouth to continue but closed it again like a goldfish due to nervousness. The boy in front of him folded his arms; eyes were staring at him with amused glint. Oh, so embarrassing. “What’s your name?”

“You chase after me just to ask my name?” The boy raised an eyebrow.

“Uh yes?”

It seemed like the boy couldn’t hold his laughter over the whole situation anymore. He started with a chuckle and within seconds, he was already laughing like there was no tomorrow. Ten could feel the blush crept back onto his cheeks and he was just standing awkwardly with papers in his hands, waiting for the boy to stop laughing.

“I am—I am sorry.” The boy tried to catch his breath after laughing too much. “I just don’t expect you to say that, really. I saw you tripped earlier in hallway and I had to hide myself behind the pillar to laugh my ass off. I was feeling bad so I decided to help you. Then you tripped for the second time and it was just another funny situation. Now you asked my name? You are really interesting person.”

Ten didn’t know if it was a compliment or not but he would take it as one. He scratched his non itchy cheek to hide his blush. “Now to think about it again, I am really a klutz.”

“You are.” The boy grinned. “Better be careful next time. Anyway, I am Johnny.”

_Finally._

“Oh I am Ten.” He clumsily balanced the papers with one arm as he pushed one of his hands forward for a handshake, eager for another contact with the taller.

Johnny reached for Ten’s hand and shook it. If Ten’s heart was beating fast before, now it was uncontrollable. The brown haired man’s hand was warm and huge compared to his small sweaty hand.

“Nice to meet you, Ten.”

Hearing his name came out of Johnny’s mouth only sent him into another breakdown. His heart was probably going to burst out of his ribs at this point but he didn’t want to die yet. This was just a start of everything after all.

“Nice to meet you too, Johnny.”

“So are you going back to Mrs. Jung now or—”

“OH MY GOD” Ten just realized that he was more than late to bring the papers to Mrs. Jung.

Realizing how screwed up he was right now, Ten bade a goodbye to Johnny before rushing towards the class where Mrs. Jung was waiting for him. He already predicted that the teacher would give him hell for taking so long.

“Johnny, huh.”

Thinking about Johnny somehow made him forget about the wrath that he was about to face. He thought it was worth it to ditch his teacher for an attractive brunette. Ten didn’t and would never regret it at the end because little he did know, that was how he met the love of his life.

 

**

The library was very quiet because well, it was a library where people were seeking for quiet environment. Most of students there were busy reading the books or writing something down their paper; but not with Johnny. The brown haired man was holding a book but he wasn’t really reading the pages. His mind was full of the cute raven head he met earlier. Ten was his name.

He was heading to library earlier and saw Mrs. Jung was walking with a student behind him. What he didn’t expect was the student all of sudden tripped in the clumsiest way possible and the next thing he saw was the boy was sprawled on the floor with papers scattered on the floor. Johnny had to hide behind the pillar to muffle his laughter. It was mean to laugh over someone’s misery but damn, it was just too funny watching the poor student look around to check if no one saw him falling then he pretended like nothing happened as he crouched down to pick up the papers. Feeling bad for laughing at the said student, he decided to help him to gather the papers.

That was when he realized the raven haired boy was such eye candy. Pretty was the best word to describe him. Black locks contrasted against the sun-kissed skin with combination of feline-like eyes and cute nose that Johnny wanted to pinch.

They talked a little, like really a little because the boy chose to stare at him after he said his thanks. As much as Johnny wanted to stay, he had to go to library to find reference books for his essay. It was due tomorrow and he needed to finish it as soon as possible. So he excused himself, leaving the attractive student—who seemed like he was in daze—in the hallway.

It didn’t take him long to see the attractive raven haired boy again because the boy apparently chased after him and just had to trip _for the second time_ in front of him. It was really unexpected and Johnny had really hard time to hold his laughter. He was feeling sorry for the clumsy boy but really—the whole situation was just too funny to be true. Everything felt like a déjà vu as Johnny crouched down to help the raven haired boy to pick the papers. He playfully reminded him to tie his shoelaces since next time he might be not around to help him.

The whole thing became even funnier when out of nowhere the attractive student asked his name and this boy was really unpredictable and it amused him to core. They exchanged name and he finally could identify the boy with ‘Ten’; short and cute name just like the owner.

“Why can’t I stop thinking about him?” Johnny whispered a bit too loud, earning some glares from the students in the library. He ducked his head behind the thick book to hide from the fierce eyes of the students.

How the hell he could read this book when his mind was full of Ten. Was this what called as love at the first sight? Johnny had never fallen in love before since he spent most of his times by reading books. He was awkward around people who weren’t close to him and the fact that he didn’t have many people who were close to him itself was actually a problem. But with Ten, with Ten he was fine. It felt like they had known each other for long time and he was comfortable around him.

“I am so pathetic.”

Slumping his body over the table, Johnny could only take pity of his socializing skill. He wanted to know about Ten more but he was afraid the raven haired boy found him boring. Well, he was _boring_ anyway since all he did was reading books. But hey, would it hurt if he tries? _Yeah dumbass, your heart will if he rejects you._

This was getting ridiculous. All Johnny should do was to befriend him first, why in the world he was thinking about rejection. It wasn’t he was going to propose him, right? He sighed in annoyance but when he remembered the cute blush on Ten’s face, he couldn’t help to grin like an idiot.

“Ten, huh.”

Maybe this time Johnny would try to step out of his comfort zone, only for the cute raven with almond shaped eyes though. He never knew the future after all; maybe they would end up together someday. And that wasn’t bad idea.

 

**

It didn’t take long until Johnny became Ten’s friend. It was as easy as A B C since they shared same circle of friend; or maybe because he was almost friends with everyone in school. People always called him as social butterfly, which was accurate because Ten loved to make new friends. He learned that the brown haired boy wasn’t really talkative around the strangers and Ten was still a stranger to Johnny.

Ten decided to break through the wall between them. He wanted to be closer with Johnny thus he did the first move by greeting the brown haired man every morning in the hallway. He got a simple smile from Johnny but it was more than enough.  From simple greeting, things escalated to better direction. Ten would visit library sometime since he knew the latter enjoyed reading books there. It seemed like Johnny didn’t mind his presence either. The attraction was mutual so it wasn’t surprising when few weeks later they started dating.

People might think they didn’t match each other since Johnny was the calm and quiet type while Ten was the bubbly and loud one but like in science: the opposites attracted each other. Their friends were surprised to know that they were a thing now. Some of them even jokingly said that they wouldn’t last long.

“You both are really mismatched couple.” Yuta laughed as he rested his head on Taeyong’s lap. He glanced up to meet his boyfriend’s doe eyes. “Unlike us, right?”

Taeyong laughed and bent down to kiss his forehead. “Yeah, we are the perfect match.”

Ten only smiled because he agreed that the couple was perfect match and simply brushing Yuta’s comment off his mind. That was easy to do since Johnny was standing beside him, squeezing his hand gently.

“We don’t have to be perfect. ” Ten whispered into Johnny’s ear, slightly tiptoeing in process since his boyfriend was much taller than him.

“Let’s just be the ordinary and boring couple.” Johnny grinned as he ruffled Ten’s hair affectionately.

If he could make comparison, relationship was like a plant and currently their relationship was still a seed that had been planted. It would grow as long as they took care of it together. Instead of forcing it to grow faster, Ten wanted to cherish every minute to grow their love.

Yuta’s prediction was wrong at the end. He and Taeyong weren’t a perfect match. During his senior year, Ten watched Yuta break up with Taeyong. This didn’t only happen to them but to all couples he knew. They broke up and changed their partners, unlike him who was still going strong with Johnny. Life was indeed unpredictable. No one knew what the future brought for them after all.

“Will you go to prom with me? You will, right?”

Ten giggled as he took out some of his books out of the locker. The prom was coming soon and Johnny now casually asked him to go as his date for the event. He had seen some of his friends did the prom proposal in cheesy and romantic way but of course his boyfriend was a special snowflake.

“You should have asked me in more romantic way, maybe with chocolate or something.” Ten closed his locker and turned to face his boyfriend. A teasing smile made its way to his face. “Why are you so confident that I will go with you?”

“But I buy you chocolate everyday?” Johnny poked Ten’s nose with his finger. “So you don’t want to go with me?”

“Hmm… do I have other choice anyway?”

Ten and Johnny just stared at each other without a word until the bell rang, telling the students that the lunch break was over. They had to break the staring battle because they need to go back to the class. Chuckling, Ten hooked his arm with Johnny’s as they headed towards their respective class.

“Buy me extra chocolate today then I’ll go with you.”

Johnny’s laughter filled the slightly empty hallway. “Deal.”

**

Everyone was looking forward for the prom party tonight, including Johnny. He combed his hair to the side neatly because it was getting longer. Ten didn’t allow him to cut his hair because the smaller loved to run his fingers through the wavy brown locks of his. Fixing the bow tie, he checked his appearance in front of the mirror for the last time before heading out to pick his boyfriend up.

“Hi!”

Johnny couldn’t help but grin when he saw Ten coming out of his house with a shy smile on his face. His boyfriend was stunning in his dark blue suit that hugged his petite figure perfectly. He was really lucky to have Ten as his prom date, _as his lover_. They had been dating for almost three years but he was still amazed at Ten’s beauty. Johnny was sure in love and no one could argue with him about that fact.

“You look great as usual. I like that you styled your hair up, it’s easier for me to kiss your forehead.” Johnny bent down to peck on Ten’s forehead, earning a shy giggle from the smaller.

“Stop it.” Ten pushed Johnny away with pretty blush on his cheeks. He eyed the taller from head to toe before flashed his signature sunshine-like smile. “You look dashing as always.”

They both laughed and casually intertwined their fingers. Johnny playfully led Ten towards his father’s car that he borrowed just for today. Paramore’s The Only Exception was playing inside the car and Ten was humming along to the song. One, twice Johnny would glance at his boyfriend, admiring the gorgeous side profile secretly.

The school’s ballroom was full with senior students, all dressed in formal clothes. Johnny and Ten greeted some of their friends, hanging around to talk about random stuff with them. This was their last event as high school students. They would go in separated way after the graduation and somehow it made Johnny sad. It affected his mood for the night and Ten noticed it.

“Why am I feeling gloomy aura around you?”

At the corner of the ballroom, Johnny and Ten were sitting side by side; watching the students dance to the upbeat music. The brown haired man turned his head to face his boyfriend, feeling a bit guilty for being moody.

“I am just thinking about the future.”

“I thought you were thinking about me.” Ten grinned as he held Johnny’s hand, making a circle motion with his finger on the latter’s palm.

“Aren’t you my future?”

Ten was blushing and Johnny was satisfied with the sight. His mood lightened up all of sudden.

“Cheesy. Tell me what happened to your mood earlier!”

It seemed like Johnny couldn’t avoid the topic because Ten could easily read his mood. They understood each other even if they didn’t verbally speak. Sighing, he leaned his back against the chair.

“It feels sad to leave high school. We are going to start new chapter of our life, going to separate way and we may never see our friends again.”

“You are going to college not going to die. Don’t be dramatic.” Ten laughed, earning a side eye from Johnny. Thin arms circled around his waist as the smaller buried his face into Johnny’s shoulder. “At least we are still together, right?”

Those words make Johnny feel relaxed. That was right; at least they were still together. Both of them decided to apply at same university, therefore they wouldn’t get separated after graduation. His mood went up to the point a smile bloomed on his face.

“That’s right.” Johnny kissed the top of Ten’s head, inhaling the scent of vanilla shampoo that he usually used.

“So, do you want to dance?”

Chuckling, Johnny got up from the chair and pulled Ten along with him towards the dance floor. Like typical of prom night, the students were having fun together. They laughed a lot, enjoying every moment of their last time as high school kids.

Later at night, the couple headed towards Johnny’s house. Once they were inside Johnny’s room, they kissed passionately. It was mutual agreement that they would take a higher step for their relationship. The moonlight peeked through the curtain as they made love in the dark. The moans that fell out of Ten’s parted lips were like music in Johnny’s ears and with few swift thrust both of them reached their high.

“I love you.” Ten whispered as he cupped Johnny’s damped cheeks.

Johnny kissed his boyfriend’s nose lovingly. “I love you too.”

They said those words often but this time, it felt more meaningful. The seed now was growing into a little sprout. It was still young, just like their relationship. All they had to do was to make sure that it kept growing instead of dying.

**

 

Johnny and Ten took another higher step by living together. It wasn’t fool decision because it had benefit for both of them. Sharing an apartment would cut the living cost and the place was close to their university as well. Unlike Johnny who was independent since he was in middle school, Ten was a spoiled child in his family thus it wasn’t easy to convince Ten’s parents at first but after long talk with them, he managed to get their approval.

“You shouldn’t forget to eat your lunch, Ten.” Johnny packed the sandwich he just made earlier into a small plastic bag. “You usually forget to eat when you are busy painting so I made simple lunch to eat for you.”

Ten smiled and kissed Johnny’s cheek softly. He couldn’t argue with him since it was true that Ten sometime forgot the time when he was busy with his paintings. The amount of lunch break he skipped somehow made his boyfriend worry. They took different major which meant that even thought they went to same university; Ten and Johnny studied in separated building. Usually they met up at the cafeteria but these past days, Ten got too immersed with painting that he skipped the lunch break.

“Thank you Johnny.”

“You’re welcome.” Johnny ruffled Ten’s hair gently.

First year of the couple living together, everything was fine since they mostly acted like a newly married couple, maybe because the thought of spending a lot of time with your loved ones made them ecstatic. They loved each other, it was no doubt but love only was not enough to keep their relationship going smoothly. Their love was still like a growing sprout; it was still fragile and needed to be taken care.  There were a lot of factors to keep this little plant alive but they somehow didn’t consider it.

Johnny and Ten had their first big fight during their second year in university which meant it had been two years since they lived together. It wasn’t like their petty fight over small matter like Ten forgot to wash the dish or Johnny didn’t tell him that he was going home late. It was small but crucial one.

Students were usually stressed out during exams period and it happened to the couple as well. As visual art major, Ten had a lot of painting to finish before the deadline. It was stressful since sometime he wasn’t satisfied with what he painted so he ended up scratching it from the start.  Unlike Ten who majored in visual art, Johnny took literature major since he enjoyed reading books. It was a tiring day for Johnny. He spent hours in library to write his essay for the upcoming exam. When he got home, the light was still off which was a sign that Ten had been staying in the ‘studio’ since Johnny left in the morning. Their apartment had two rooms but Ten insisted to sleep in same room with Johnny so they made the other room as small studio for Ten where he could paint.

Ten had been awake for 26 hours and the lack of sleep made him get annoyed over the simplest thing. He didn’t hear when Johnny stepped inside the room because he was too immersed with his painting.

“Ten? Did you eat your lunch?”

The voice startled Ten and he jolted forward, hitting the painted canvas in process. It dropped to the ground with small thud. A gasp escaped his mouth as he glanced back and forth at the ruined painting on the ground and Johnny who looked at him with horror.

“What the fuck!” Ten cursed loudly. He wasn’t the type to swear when he was angry but he had been working for the painting for so long. With shaky hands, Ten flipped over the canvas and tears brimmed in his eyes when he spotted the smeared blue all over the painting. It was ruined. He had to start from the beginning again. This wouldn’t do.

“Ten I—Sorry Ten.” Johnny stepped forward to hug him as the form of apology but the smaller man stepped back, hugging the ruined painting protectively. Ten was already crying and Johnny felt so horrible. “Ten, I didn’t mean to startle you. Please forgive me. I’ll help you to finish I—“

“What you can help when you are majoring in the useless stuff like literature! Leave me alone John!”

The words hurt Johnny. Ten knew that it was Johnny’s dream to be a writer thus he took literature major. It was his passion and Ten just looked down over it. He understood that his boyfriend was angry but he didn’t have the right to talk down over his passion.

“Stop acting like a fucking child Ten. I understand that you are angry. I was wrong but you didn’t have to talk shit about what I like. You’re always acting very childish and I had enough!” Johnny raised his voice, jaw tightening to hold his anger.

“Just leave me alone!” Ten screamed, pushing Johnny away and stormed into the bedroom, their shared bedroom to be exact. He locked the door, not caring that it was Johnny’s room as well. He was really angry.

Ten fell asleep after he cried for an hour. When he woke up, the apartment was empty. He checked the bathroom and Johnny was nowhere to be found. After he calmed down, he realized how mean he was to Johnny. It was true that he was being childish, throwing a tantrum and hurting Johnny’s feeling in process. Usually things would be alright after their fight because Johnny would always apologize and convince Ten to forgive him but this time he didn’t even try.

Johnny didn’t go back for dinner. Ten ended up eating alone with swollen eyes due to all crying. He decided that he would start to paint again and fix his relationship with Johnny later. The deadline was getting closer.

Ten heard the front door clicked and he saw Johnny stepping inside the apartment. He had eyebags and looked very tired. The guilt was creeping back but Ten’s ego stopped him to apologize first.

“Johnny do you want to eat dinner?” Ten said as casual as possible.

Johnny only stared at him with no expression. He shook his head and walked towards the bedroom. Ten couldn’t even talk back even when Johnny said no words. He realized that Johnny was angry and he really did hurt him. Ten was too scared to apologize now. Like a coward, he chose to hide instead of man up and owned his mistake. With teary eyes, Ten walked towards the small studio to restart his painting.

The couple didn’t realize that being in love with each other wasn’t the only way to keep the relationship last long. Communication and respect towards each other were also needed but they were lacking in those aspects. It damaged their relationship, just like the growing sprout that got watered everyday but not getting enough sunlight to grow strong.

**

Days turned into weeks and Johnny and Ten barely talked. They still lived in same apartment but the tension from their last fight was still there. Ten was too scared to apologize and Johnny didn’t plan to apologize first either. He was tired of apologizing when it wasn’t really his mistake. Ten should learn the hard way and it was the punishment for him.

They still talked but only necessary stuff like grocery shopping and laundry. Johnny and Ten shared the same bed but no cuddling anymore. Johnny always turned his back at Ten and Ten would cry silently at night. He knew he was wrong but why was it so hard for him to apologize? Maybe because it was the first time of Johnny giving him cold shoulder. Johnny was always understanding with him but he never wanted to understand Johnny. It was his fault. All was his fault for being egoistic jerk and not considering Johnny’s feelings. The lack of communication between them made their relationship grew apart. There was a distance and Ten felt like Johnny was a stranger to him.

“Hey Johnny.” Ten decided to apologize first and swallowed his ego. Screw his ego, he loved Johnny more than his ego. “Do—do you need a coffee? I can make one for you.”

It was Sunday morning and Johnny was typing something with his laptop on dining table. Ten noticed that his boyfriend pulled all nighters to finish whatever he made. His heart clenched at the thought that he didn’t even know what Johnny had been working on. Usually he would stay beside Johnny when he worked on his task. Ten would doodle on his sketchbook, keeping himself as Johnny’s company. They didn’t have to talk since the silence was comfortable. Sometimes Johnny would stretch his body to ease the stiffness and steal kiss from Ten at the same time. Ten missed those moments.

Johnny looked up and with a monotone voice he answered Ten. “I can make it by myself when I need it.”

It was short answer but it hurt Ten so much. Johnny sounded like he was annoyed that Ten disrupted his work. Maybe it was what Johnny felt when Ten lashed out at him that time. He planned to apologize before but the cold response from Johnny destroyed his courage. Before Ten could say anything, Johnny got up from the chair and turned off his laptop.

“I want to sleep now. Don’t disturb me.”

With that, Johnny walked towards their shared room. Not even glancing back at Ten, leaving him alone in the kitchen. Ten bit his lower lip, trying to hold his tears that threatened to fall. He didn’t want to cry again. Johnny really talked to him like he was a disturbance, a burden in his life.

Johnny knew he was being unfair to Ten but he thought Ten deserved the cold shoulder. He was punishing Ten so he could change for the better. At least that was what he thought. Deep down, Johnny felt so guilty. All he wanted to do was hug Ten but he didn’t want to give in to temptation. His ego clouded his mind, ignoring the fact that he was hurting Ten as well.

Their relationship was changing for the worse. They both didn’t even bother to talk to each other anymore. Student life kept them busy and they both used that as distraction. Until one day Johnny went back from class with a grin on his face. Ten was curious and he wanted to know but he wasn’t ready to get cold shoulder from Johnny again.

Johnny couldn’t stop smiling because a famous publisher contacted him earlier after reading his blog. He was interested with his writing style and offered him to publish it as book instead. The excitement made him forget about the fight with Ten. For a while.

“Hey Ten, do you know that I got a great offer from a publisher? I’ll have my own book.”

Ten was surprised when Johnny started the conversation. After two weeks of silence, it was Johnny who broke the ice first. “Oh! Congratulation! I am excited for you Johnny!” He made a cheering gesture. Ten was genuinely happy because he knew that it was Johnny’s dream to publish his own book.

“See? Literature major isn’t useless like you said.” Johnny smirked and walked towards their shared room. It was an asshole move but the little monster inside Johnny was roaring in pride.

Ten looked down and took a deep breath. He convinced himself that he deserved it. To be honest, he never thought that majoring in literature was useless. It was really heat of the moment because he was angry. But he wouldn’t deny that he made a mistake. A big one. He still didn’t know how to apologize to Johnny. The thought of Johnny refused to forgive him was too scary, he was afraid that he couldn’t handle it.

A Coward.

 

**

“How about you apologize during his birthday? Make a surprise for him? It’s next week, right?”

Ten looked up with a bright expression. It was a good idea indeed and he wanted to prepare something for Johnny’s birthday as well. His friend, Doyoung suggested a great plan and he was really up for this. Maybe he could cook for Johnny? It was always Johnny who cooked for them. Even though the taller had been giving him cold shoulder, he still prepared food for Ten. That simple gesture already made Ten happy because he knew that Johnny still cared.

“It’s good idea. I should cook for him!”

Doyoung sighed in relief when he saw Ten smiled again. It was sad to see his bright friend barely smiled these past weeks. He asked him what was going on and Ten told him everything. At first he understood why Johnny was angry but the more he watched how things going for now, it was unfair for Ten. He was friend with the couple since the highschool. He saw how Ten and Johnny got together and it was weird for him before because two men with different personalities somehow clicked. Truly the phrase ‘opposites attract each other’ was real.

“Don’t chicken out and make sure you apologize properly.”

“Aye aye captain!”

Ten was busy planning everything from searching for recipes and looking for gift to buy for Johnny. He wasn’t the best at cooking but he could manage to make food without burning the whole apartment for sure. Johnny barely paid attention him as well since he was working on his draft.

The day was coming. It was February 9th and Ten knew Johnny only had one class that day. He purposely skipped his class (it wasn’t important anyway, at least not as important as Johnny). Once Johnny left their apartment, he started preparing to make Johnny’s favorite food. It was simple dish, a pork soup. Ten was confident that he could make it.

“Let’s get started!”

**

Johnny was surprised when his classmates prepared a birthday cake for him. He forgot that today was his birthday. They congratulated him for the soon-to-be-published book and of course for being older. He was happy and suddenly it hit him that Ten didn’t wish him a happy birthday. They had seen each other this morning during breakfast. It seemed like Ten forgot too and it hurt his feeling.

Yes, he was still giving Ten a cold shoulder but he did that because he wanted Ten to apologize and owned up his mistake. It was good punishment for a childish person like him. Johnny reassured himself that maybe Ten would text or call him later.

He didn’t get any text or call from Ten.

Two calls from his parents and other than that he got no text or call. Ten really didn’t care about him anymore, did he? Johnny was bitter. He thought Ten would change but seemed like he put too much expectation. Johnny ended up checking his phone several times, expecting that he would get notification. At the end, he turned off his phone. He was angry and didn’t want to see Ten for now so he decided to accept his friend’s invitation to celebrate his birthday at the café nearby.

Meanwhile Ten just finished the last touch for the birthday dish for Johnny. All he should do now was decorating the apartment with some confetti and balloon that he bought yesterday. He giggled excitedly because he loved to do things like this. He promised that he wouldn’t chicken out when he apologized. Whatever the outcome, he was ready to face it like a man.

It took him thirty minutes to prepare the decoration and he rushed to change his clothes. He wanted to look good for Johnny. After he changed, Ten sat on the dining chair as he observed the pork soup on the table. It tasted better than how it looked and he was proud of it. He glanced at the clock and still twenty more minutes until Johnny’s class ended. Ten couldn’t hold his excitement so to calm himself; he decided to doodle on his sketchbook.

Thirty minutes passed by and no sign of Johnny coming back but Ten was still being positive. Maybe Johnny had something to do. He would be back soon. Sadly soon became two hours of waiting for Ten. He tried to call Johnny but his phone was off. It was almost dinner time and Ten had to reheat the soup twice but he had no idea where Johnny was right now. He even called Doyoung, asking if his friend saw Johnny or not but unfortunately Doyoung didn’t bump into his boyfriend today.

Ten ended up falling asleep while waiting.

**

The laughter erupted when Taeil made a lame joke. The atmosphere was really good and Johnny was happy that his friends managed to distract him from the bitterness. He checked his wristwatch and it was almost dinner time. He wondered if Ten would just cook instant ramen or call for delivery. Johnny shook his head, trying to not think about Ten. His boyfriend (oh right, they were still a thing) would survive for sure.

“It’s almost dinner time. Let’s move to restaurant. I am craving for ramen.” Yuta, one of Johnny’s friends suggested the squad to move. They had been staying in this café for three hours, chatting and snacking.

“Sure. I am going to bathroom first.” Johnny got up from the chair and headed to bathroom to wash his hands.

Johnny washed his hands mindlessly. He couldn’t stop thinking about Ten. Why they relationship became like this? He sighed and dried his hands. When he was about to leave, he bumped into someone.

“Oops, Sorr—Johnny? What are you doing here? You’re not with Ten?”

It was Doyoung. He looked at Johnny with a deep frown and it made him curious. What’s with the overreaction?

“Uh yes? I am celebrating my birthday with my classmates. Ten is probably home right now.  That is if he isn’t wandering around after class.”

“Ten skipped his class today.” Doyoung sighed. “Ten is preparing something for your birthday, Johnny.”

Doyoung had enough. He would just spill everything to Johnny. Ten didn’t deserve the shit he had been through because of stupid mistake.

“What do you mean?” Johnny was confused. Ten didn’t even wish him a happy birthday so, what did Doyoung mean by preparing something for his birthday?

“Ten is at your shared apartment. He planned a surprise birthday party for you. The kid was so excited about this since last week. He is probably waiting for you to come home since afternoon but here you are having fun with your friends instead.”

Johnny had hard time to process Doyoung’s words. It was too much to take. If that was the case why didn’t Ten call him to get home?

Then it hit him that he turned off his phone. He frantically pulled out his phone and turned it on. As soon as the screen was on, he got bunch of notifications. Three miscalls and five kakao chats, all from Ten.

“Oh god.” Johnny scrolled down, reading all the chats from Ten. His boyfriend had been asking him to come home because he prepared something. The wave of guilt washed his body and Johnny felt ashamed with himself. He was such an asshole.

Doyoung looked at Johnny sympathetically. The brown haired man looked so broken that Doyoung didn’t have a heart to get angry at him.  The fact that Johnny realized that he treated Ten unfairly was already enough punishment for him. Doyoung knew that Johnny loved Ten dearly.

“Ten is scared to apologize to you Johnny. He didn’t know how to do it because he is afraid of rejection. I heard the story from him and yes, he made a mistake but you both should have talked it out instead of punishing each other like this. Communication is the key for relationship, dude. Ten might be childish but you have to remember that he is not a child. He’s capable to understand.”

“I really don’t deserve Ten.” Johnny rubbed his face roughly.

“No you guys dumb couple deserve each other.” Doyoung laughed and patted his shoulder. “You better go home now because I am sure Ten is still waiting. It’s late but better than nothing. Good luck.”

The words snapped Johnny and he immediately rushed to go back to his shared apartment, ignoring the calls from his friends. He stopped a taxi and jumped into the car in hurry. All he wanted to do now was pulling Ten into his embrace and apologize to him for being an asshole. He was really selfish, thinking about how Ten hurt his feelings but never thought about the fact that he hurt Ten’s feelings too. The ego really blinded his mind and he realized that he was really stupid.

“Why did you stop?”

The taxi stopped abruptly and Johnny checked through the window that there was a long traffic. What happened?

“Sorry sir. It seems like there is big accident. There are firetrucks ahead.”

Suddenly Johnny felt uneasy. It wasn’t that far from his apartment so he decided to walk instead. He got out from the taxi after paid the driver and ran. His heart was beating so fast when he heard the scream. It was getting louder as he got closer. To his horror, he saw big fire engulfed the top floors of his apartment building. That was the floor where he and Ten lived. His heart stopped for a second and he immediately rushed forward, trying to push through the crowd.

Screams and cries were heard. Many people crowded around the building. The firefighters were working hard to kill the fire. Men, women, kids were running around trying to find their beloved ones. It was chaotic and everyone was panicking. Johnny tried to step forward but he was stopped by a security.

“Sir, it’s very dangerous here please step back.”

“My boyfriend. M—my boyfriend.” Johnny tried to string a proper sentence but he had hard time. His mind couldn’t work right now. The thought of losing Ten drove him insane.

“Sir everyone is evacuated already. Your boyfriend is probably with the paramedic’s team.”

The security pointed to the left and Johnny didn’t think twice to rush towards the said direction. He saw some of his neighbors were around there, sitting with blanket around their bodies. They looked scared and Johnny couldn’t even imagine how scared Ten was. He almost lost his mind when he didn’t spot Ten around them but then he heard familiar voice.

“Johnny!”

Johnny turned around and he spotted Ten. He was sitting near the water fountain with teary eyes.

“Ten!” Johnny ran and enveloped Ten in a big hug and he sighed in relief when Ten hugged him back. He could feel that Ten was shaking, probably still shook over the accident. “Are you okay? Ten, please tell me you are okay. I will go crazy if you’re not okay.”

Ten just sobbed into Johnny’s chest. He was still shocked with the whole situation. He fell asleep while waiting for Johnny and he woke up with a lot of smoke. It was scary because he couldn’t see anything. The loud bang, screams, and cries outside didn’t help to calm himself. He thought he was going to die.

“I was so scared, Johnny. It was so scary.”

They stayed in that position for a while. Johnny caressed Ten’s back up and down to give him more comfort. Ten stopped crying already as he only heard sniffles from him. He pulled back a bit to check on him. The sight was breathtaking for Johnny. He hated to see Ten crying but Ten was just so beautiful with glassy eyes and rosy cheeks. His nose was a bit red and small hiccup came out from his mouth. Johnny was _so_ in love with Ten.

“Feeling better?”

Ten nodded and wiped his tears with his left hand. That was when Johnny noticed that Ten’s hand was bandaged, not only his left hand but both.

“What happened to your hands?”

“Oh!” Ten pushed Johnny away and turned around, seeming like trying to find something. He picked up small bag near the water fountain. “I am sorry I only managed to get your laptop. Some of the books were on fire and I kinda hurt myself. I know you’re really working hard to release your book Johnny so I am really really sorry that I could only save this.”

Johnny was speechless. Ten was standing in front of him, holding his laptop with a sad face as if he didn’t risk his life just to get this. His tears already dried up, innocent eyes looked at Johnny with a lot of regret. Johnny really didn’t deserve Ten.

“You—are you crazy?” Johnny laughed. He laughed and laughed until his laughter turned into a sob. He dropped on his knees and Ten was rushed to check on him.

“Johnny? Johnny are you okay? Why are you crying? I am sorry I could only save your laptop. I tried and—“

“Ten, shut up.” Johnny managed to say in between his cries, shutting Ten up in flash. He took the laptop from Ten’s hands and placed it on the ground.

“Johnny?”

“You are such an idiot.” He grabbed Ten’s bandaged hands carefully, kissing each of them softly. “You are an artist, a painter. How could you risk your precious hands for me? I really didn’t deserve you Ten.”

Ten smiled at Johnny. “It’s because I don’t want you to lose your hard work.”

“I’d rather lose all of my books and laptop instead of losing you. I love you Ten, I am sorry that I was being an asshole to you.”

“I am sorry too. You know for the stuff I said before I—“

“Ssh.” Johnny pecked Ten on the lips. “It was really stupid fight.”

“Yeah it was.” Ten giggled. Thinking about the fight again was really stupid. They really needed to talk to fix their relationship. Both of them were grown adults and they should deal with maturely. No more childish fight.

 They both sat on the bench near the fountain side by side. Ten rested his head on Johnny’s shoulder as he watched the firefighters trying to extinguish the fire.

“We don’t have home anymore.” Ten said sadly.

“Correction. We don’t have place to live. _You_ are my home.”

Ten laughed and slapped Johnny’s thigh weakly. “Cheesy.”

“At least we still have each other.” Johnny kissed the top of Ten’s head. Ten only hummed as reply. “Hey, how about we crash into Doyoung’s place now? I bet he won’t believe all this madness.”

Ten looked up at Johnny. He grinned before nodded his head. Doyoung would probably freak out when he found out what happened to his friends. For now they didn’t want to think about the future. They would fix what they could fix in present before moving forward.

The little sprout. It was weak but still alive; to grow stronger it needed more than just water but sunlight as well.  Same like relationship, love was important but there were other factors to keep the relationship strong. Now that Ten and Johnny learned about it, they were ready to face the obstacles.

They would be fine, since they had each other.

 

**END**


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